Chair having spring supported seat



July 25, 1950 E; RENAUD CHAIR HAVING SPRING SUPPORTED SEAT 4'Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16; 1944 Fig. 2.

mm i W E M f (QM/Q7941 y 1950 H. E. RENAUD 2,516,801 CHAIR HAVING SPRING SUPPORTED SEAT Filed March 16, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fix 39-- s Ii 23 5 Fig. 6.

I INVENTOR.

Harald E. Renaud Fly. 4.

Z/Mam 96 4,

H. E. RENAUD CHAIR HAVING SPRING SUPPORTED SEAT July 25, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Hamid E. Renaud BY Filed March 16, 1944 M/EJ H. E. RENAUD CHAIR HAVING SPRING SUPPORTED SEAT July 25, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 16, 1944 Fig, [8.

. Fly. 12

Fz'g. 16.

INVENTOR; Hamid E. Renaud 24 to secure the platform to the base tube l3. Such securement is accomplished by means of the bolt and nut assemblies 26 which detachably connect the platform to the base tube. In other words, the sole connection between the base tube and the legs upon which it is supported is through the platform 23 and the flange and plate construction just described.

The seat l includes a seat proper 2! having the front edge thereof recessed as at 2101 and 27b to receive the legs of an occupant of the chair. A back 28 is secured to the seat proper 27, and side arms 29 extend between the back and the front portion of the seat proper 21.

Slidably mounted upon the upper part of the arms 23 is a tray 30. Provision is made for locking the tray in any desired position through means of the locking mechanism illustrated generally in Figure 3.

The locking mechanism is identical on both sides of the chair and only one side is shown on Figure 3. As there shown, this mechanism includes 'an element'3l secured to the top of the upper branch of the arm '29 and having notches formed therein along the inner edge thereof adapted to cooperate with the ratchet element 32 carried by the tray 30. As shown, the ratchet element 32 is pivotally connected to a plate 33 which is in turn fastened to the bottom of the tray 39. Spring means 34 urges the ratchet element 32 toward the member 3| and into engagement with the teeth thereof. Provision is made for releasing the effect of, the springs 34 through means of a rod 35 extending toward the center of the chair and supported from the tray 30 by a bracket 36. The rod 35 is formed to provide a handle 3'! by means of which the ratchet element 32 may be released from the teeth of the element 3i to permit the adjustment of the tray in a convenparent that the tray 30 may be removed from the arms 29; that the seat I0 may be disconnected from the seat tube II; that the platform 23 may be disconnected from the base tube l3; that the platform 23 maybe disconnected from the upstanding arms 2| carried by the legs; and that the legs may be separated from each other in pairs. This particular arrangement of parts lends itself to ease of manufacture and assembly and convenient packingfor shipping.

By forming the legs and the chair arms of tubular elements,.the overall weight and the cost of fabrication of the chair are materially reduced. I g

It will also be apparent from the description thus far thatthe legs I4, I5, 16 and H, which constitute the, base proper, extend outwardly beyond the periphery of the platform23 and that the outer periphery of the platform 23 is located radially outwardly of the outer perimeter of the seat 10. This also is an important feature of the construction and arrangement of parts. By thi particular construction and arrangement of parts a pyramid type of structure is provided which affords protection against the accidental tipping over of the chair irrespective of how vigorous the activity of the occupant may be. This is especially important when it is remembered that the chair is adapted for use as a bouncing device, as will be described more in detail presently. The bouncing is made possible by reason of the spring means contained in the tubes H and The spring means which are contained within the tubes H and I3 and the associated mechanisms are shown in Figures 4 to 10 inclusive. Referring first to Figure 4, it will be observed that the tube l l is formed with an enlarged portion at its lower extremity, the outer diameter of which approaches the internal diameter of the base tube 3, to provide for telescopic engagement therewith. The change in diameter of the seat tube H serves the dual purpose of providing interiorly of the tube a container for one of the springs to be described presently, and exteriorly of the tube a shoulder 39 adapted to be engaged by a screw 40 carried by the base tube I3, which looks the seat tube I l to the base tube l3 and prevents the withdrawal of the former from the latter. This arrangement, of course, results in the up per portion of the seat tube ll being of a reduced diameter, and when that portion is telescoped within the base tube l3, places it in spaced relation to the tube i3. This also is responsible for an advantageous result, namely, the prevention of contaminating either the exterior of the seat tube l I or the base tube I3 by any lubricator which may be disposed within the tubes to provide for the free movement of the seat tube ll within the base tube l 3.

The lower extremity of base tube i3 is closed by a closure member 4| secured thereto which is provided with a central opening surrounded by an interiorly threaded boss 42. An exteriorly threaded bolt 43 having secured to its lower extremity an operating handle 44 is received within the boss 42. At its upper extremity the bolt 43 has mounted thereon a cup-like member 45 adapted to receive the lower ends of two spring elements. The cup member 45 is held in position by nut 46 threaded onto the upper end of the bolt 43. It will be understood that by rotating the bolt 43 the cup member 45 may be raised or lowered within the base tube 3.

The spring means contained within the tubes H and 13 includes three separate compression springs, designated by the reference numerals 41, 48 and 49. Spring 4'! is a relatively weak spring and is designed to provide for yieldin movement of the seat portion ID of the chair even though the occupant of the chair is of but little weight. Spring 48 is a stiffer spring and comes into operation primarily when a heavier occupant is in the seat.

Springs 41 and 48 are separated fromeach other by a floating support 50 which is formed in the shape of a cylinder closed at one end'a'nd having a radial peripheral flange at the other :end. Spring 4'!- surrounds the cylindrical side Wall of the support 50 and is confined between 'the peripheral flange of that support and a horizontal wall at the shoulder 39 formed in tube I I. Spring 48 has its upper end disposed within the cylindrical support 50 and is confined between the closed end of the cylindrical support 50 and the cup-like member 45 carried by adjusting bolt 43. The floating support 50, as its name implies, is capable of vertical movement within the larger end of seat tube l l where it is confined at all times. 7

Spring 49 is the strongest of the three springs and is disposed within the spring 48, being coiled in the opposite direction so as to avoid interference. The upper end of spring 49 is disposed well below the upper end of the spring 48 when the chair is unoccupied and the parts are in the position shown in Figure 4; Spring 49 serves to reinforce spring 48 when an extremely heavy'load is placed upon the chair, but does not interfere with the normal flexing of "spring 48 until the time that spring 49 comes into operation. I

The positions of the springs 41 and 48 when compressed substantially to their extreme limits are shown in Figure 5. a

Figures 6 and '7 illustrate the function of the adjusting bolt 43. Its purpose is to precompress the springs .so as to "maintain the desired relationship between the foot rest platform 23Iand the seat proper 21 when heavier loads are imposed on the seat. It willbe understood that when the several parts are in the positions shown in Figures 1 and4the platform 23 is spaced from theseat proper 21a suitable distance to accommodate a very young child or one of relatively little weight. That is to say, the weight of such a child will cause considerable compression of spring 47 and some compression of spring 48, and seat proper 21 willbe lowered sufiiciently to make platform 23. a convenient rest for the childs feet. f I

Obviously, if a heavier child were seated in the chair his weight would'depress the chair further and reduce the distance. between the seat proper 21' and the platform '23,'so that the platform 23 would not afforda convenient resting place for the childs feet, The adjustment avail able through the bolt .43 isdesigned to overcome this disadvantage.

It will be readilyapparent that when the bolt J53 is threaded into the tube 13 that springs 41 and 48 will be precompressed so that a greater weight will be required to further compress the springs than would have been required had there been no precompression. The greater the amount of the precompression the greater the weight which will be required to efiect a further compression.

v The adjustment afforded throughthe adjusting bolt 43. as described above, provides a means for maintaining a proper relationship between the foot rest platform 23.and the seat proper 21. This might also be accomplished as is hereinafter described by providing a platform which is adjustable vertically of the base tube l3.

By reference again to Figure 4 it will be observed that the exterior of the tube H is provided with weight measuring indicia.. These are provided in order to take. advantage of theweighing characteristics afforded-by the use of thenovel feature of the present invention and makes possible the accurate measurement of the weight of an occupant of the chair [even though the springs have been precompressed aspre'viously described. The connection between the indicator 5! and the handle 44 includesa cylinder 52 seated within the conf nes of the handle and telescopically receivedaround theexterior of the base tube 13. The cylinder 52 is provided with an outwardly extending peripheral flange 53 at its upper extremity to which are secured a plurality of connecting rods 54,1 The upper extremities of these connecting rods are secured to the outwardly extending peripheral flange 5la of indicating element 5]. a a

"From the foregoingdescription it will be unlever 65 which, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, engages the bottom of seat 21 when the crank'tl non-locking position.

described has two outstanding advantages.

derstood that when a child is placed in the seat [0 and locked in position by the tray 30, that his legs will extend downwardly through the recesses 21a and 21b and that'the springs 41 and 48 will be compressed sufiiciently to permit his feet to rest upon the platform 23. By pushing against the platform 23 the child can impart a bouncing motion to the seat H]. It maybe desirable during feeding periods or at other times to prevent the bouncing action of the seat. "To that end provision is made for locking the seat ill against bouncing or vertical movement in relation to the base E2. The mechanism for that purpose will now be described.

The preferred form of locking mechanism is shown in Figures 8 to 10, and an alternative form is shown in Figures 11 and 12.

As shown in Figure 8, the locking mechanism includes a pair of radially reciprocable lock'pins 55 and 55 mounted in aligned openings at opposite sides of the seat tube i I immediately above the shoulder 39. The pins are formed with a cooperative projection and recess as shown in Figure 8 with a compression spring 51 contained therein. The spring 51 tends to urge the looking pins radially outwardly to the position shown ,in Figure 9. In that position they extend out-.

wardly over the upperv extremity of base tube I3 and lock the seat 10 against downward vertical movement. Further upward vertical movement of the seat tube H in relation to the base tube I3 is prevented b the set screw 40 previously described in connection with Figure 4.

The construction and arrangement of the lock pins 55 and 56 is such as to permit them to be moved radially inwardly against the force of spring 57 to the position shown in Figure 8. In that position the lock pins 55 and 56 clear the upper extremity of base tube l3 and permit vertical reciprocation of the seat tube ll within the base tube IS.

A novel operating mechanism is provided for conveniently actuating the lock pins 55 and 56 so as to move them either to their looking or their This mechanism com.- prises a cam member 53 which is generally in the form of an inverted cup and which is provided with cam surfaces 59 adapted to contact the cam surfaces 55a and 55a on the lock pins 55 and 5B. Notches are formed in the cup member 58 to receive the pins While permitting the cam surfaces 59 to engage the cam surfaces 55a and 56a.

Cam member 58 is reciprocated vertically by a crank mechanism which includes the connect ing rod 68 having its lower extremity secured to thecam member 58' and its upper extremity secured to a crank 61. Crank 6! extends through openings provided for that purpose in the seat 'tube I l and has at one end thereof an operating handle 52. Adjacent the operating handle the shaft of crank 6| is rotatably supported from the bottom of the seat proper '21 by a bracket 63 secured to the seat 21 by screws 64. Adjacent its opposite extremity and located within the seat tube II the crank is provided with an arm or a is rotated to raise the cam member 58. In this ,manner the arm 6?] serves as a stop to prevent 70 rotating the crank beyond the upper position.

The locking mechanism which has just been The major portion of the mechanism is wholly contained within the seat tube 1 i; and the operating handle for actuating the mechanism is disposed other than the occupant of the chair.

as shown in those figures. end of shaft 68 is a wedge member 69 adapted to engage the cam surfaces of brake blocks 67 which are located on the radially inner surfaces 7 at a position convenient for the use of anyone Obviously, it is not desirable to have the operating mechanism arranged where it can be used by a child occupying the chair. On the other hand,

it is desirable to have this mechanism arranged where it can be used by the attendant of the child seated in the chair.

It will be recognized that the locking mechanism described above is capable of locking the seat I8 only in its uppermost position. For most purposes this is the only position in which it would be desiredto lock the chair against reciprocation. However, provision can be made for locking the chair in any desired position within the limits of the vertical movement of seat tube I l within base tube l3. Mechanism for this purpose is illustrated in Figures 11 and 12.

As shown in Figure 11, the seat tube H is formed immediately above the shoulder 39 with posed within each of these openings and supported by the flanges surrounding the opening is a brake block 61 adapted to be pressed outwardly into engagement with the interior surface of base tube i3. When so pressed outwardly the brake blocks lock the tube H to the tube l3 in whatever position these tubes may be in at the time the brake blocks are pressed outwardly.

, The mechanism for moving the brake blocks .20 a plurality of flanged openings 66 therein. Disradially outwardly to locking position comprises a shaft 68 which may be a modification of the connecting rod 68 of Figures 8 and 9, and which may be operated by the same crank mechanism Secured to the lower thereof. By reference to Figure 11 it will be apparent that when the shaft 68 and the wedge member 69 are in the position there shown,

namely, the lowermost position for the wedge member '69, the brake blocks 5'! are spaced from the internal surface of the tube I3; and that when the shaft 68 and the wedge member 68 are moved upwardly the brake blocks 61 are forced.

radially outwardly into locking engagement with cludes a seat 18 having secured to the undersurface thereof a seat tube H; a base in the form of a plurality of legs 12 secured together as a unit and supporting a base tube '13; and a foot rest platform 14 connected to the base tube I3 for vertical adjustment relative thereto.

, Disposed within the tubes H and 13 is a coil compression spring 15 adapted to yieldably support the seat 18 from the base. The spring 15 is confined between a portion 16 of the legs 12 upon which the lower extremity of tube 13 rests and a shoulder 11 formed to extend inwardly into seat tube ll near its lower extremity. Immediately above the shoulder 11 the seat tube H is formed to provide an outwardly extending ing groove 19 at the junction between the upper and reduced section of the tube and the lower and enlarged section of the tube.

A screw 88 is threaded into an opening pro- .70 shoulder 78 which thus forms an outwardly openvided-for that purpose adjacent the upper extremity of base tube 13 and is adapted to engage the upper surface of shoulder 18 formed on seat tube H to limit the upward vertical movement thereof.

Secured to the exterior of base tube 13 adjacent the screw 88 is a bracket 8| carrying a spring pin 82 which extends through an openin provided for that purpose in the side wall of base tube '13 to engage in the groove 19 formed in seat tube H to lock that tube against movement in either reciprocable direction. It will be understood that when pin 82 is released and tube It is telescoped downwardly within tube 13 so that shoulder 18 passes the pin 82, the sole support for seat I0 is the spring 15. In other words, under these circumstances the chair is in condition for bouncing action. In order to hold the pin 82 in its locked position there is provided within the bracket 81 between the bracket and a shoulder formed for that purpose on the pin 82, a spring 83 which urges the pin radially inwardly. V

Suitable meansis provided for adjusting the foot'rest platform I4 vertically of the base tube 13. This means is illustrated in Figure 18. As there shown, the platform 14 is formed with a hub portion 84 which telescopically engages the external surface of tube 13. Threadedly received in an opening provided in a boss portion 85 of the hub is a. bolt 86 having a handle 81 at its outer extremity and a clamping element 88 at its inner extremity. By rotating the bolt 86 radially outwardly the clamping element 88 is disengaged from the tube 13 and the platform 74 may be moved to any desired position. When the platform is placed in the desired position it can be securely locked there by rotating the bolt 86 radially inwardly to press the clamping element 88 into firm frictional engagement with the tube 13. By this means suitable adjustment of the platform 74 may be obtained to accommodate it as a foot rest for children of varying weight.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides an extremely T novel and useful chair construction which can be and disassembled. In its preferred form it is designed for separation into parts of convenient sizefor packaging. It is of sturdy and durable construction.

The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

' "I claim:

1. A chair including, in combination, a base having an upstanding tube secured thereto, a seat having a downwardly extending tube secured thereto, said seat tube being telescopically received in said base tube for vertical and rotatable movem'ent relative thereto, the seat tube having a portion at its lower extremity of substantially the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the base tube and having a portion above said first named portion of substantially smaller diameter whereby said last named portion. is spaced from the base tube, spring means contained within the tubes for yieldingl supporting the seatrrcm the base, and latch means associated with said tubes for releasably latching said tubes in predetermined position, said latch means having a portion located within said seat tube and extending outwardly therefrom and adapted to engage the base tube when said tubes are latched in predetermined position.

2. A chair including, in combination, a base having an upstanding tube secured thereto, a seat having a downwardly extending support telescopically received in said tube for vertical movement relative thereto, spring means contained within the tube and engaging said support whereby the seat is yieldingly supported by the base, means adjacent the upper end of said tube engaging a cooperating abutment on said support for limiting the upward movement of said support, and means attached to the lower end of said tube and engaging said spring means for varying the compression of said spring means.

3. A chair including, in combination, a base having an upstanding tube secured thereto, spring means contained within said tube, a seat having a downwardly extending support telescopically received in said tube and engaging said spring means for vertical movement in said tube, said support having weight indicating indicia thereon, an indicator located adjacent said support and adapted to cooperate with said indicia to indicate weight, means on the lower end of said tube engaging said spring means and movable vertically relative to said tube for compressing said spring means, and means rigidly connecting said indicator to said spring compressing means whereby vertical movement of the latter will create vertical movement of said indicator relative to said tube and said support.

HAROLD E. RENAUD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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